Actuator, remote triggering device, governor assembly and elevator

ABSTRACT

An actuator, a remote triggering apparatus, a governor, and an elevator. The actuator includes: a mandrel, the mandrel having a proximal end and a distal end, and the mandrel being driven to move from a contraction position toward an actuation position; a mandrel sleeve; and a shell, the shell defining a channel, wherein the actuator further includes at least one sliding member, and when the mandrel moves from the contraction position toward the actuation position, the at least one sliding member is located at a first radial position where the mandrel is joined to the mandrel sleeve, such that the mandrel sleeve can move along the channel together with the mandrel; and wherein at the actuation position, the at least one sliding member moves outward radially to a second radial position where the mandrel sleeve is joined to the shell, thus locking the mandrel sleeve.

FOREIGN PRIORITY

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.201711021610.X, filed Oct. 27, 2017, and all the benefits accruingtherefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the contents of which in its entiretyare herein incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the related field of actuators, and inparticular, the present invention relates to a self-locking actuator andan application of the actuator in the field of elevators.

BACKGROUND ART

With the development of technologies for governor assemblies ofelevators, new Car Mounted Governor (CMG) assemblies are more widelyapplied. Compared with a conventional governor assembly with or withouta machine room, the car mounted governor assembly has a more compactstructure. The US Patent Publication No. US2013/0098711A1 published byAguado et al. on Apr. 25, 2013 has disclosed a governor assembly. Insuch a governor assembly, when a rotating speed of a sheave exceeds acertain value, a centrifugal mechanism that rotates together with thesheave is triggered such that the sheave drives a core ring related to asafety apparatus to rotate, thereby triggering the governor assembly,including triggering a safety switch to stop supplying power andenabling the safety apparatus to generate mechanical friction with achannel to brake a car. The patent is incorporated here by reference inits entirety. In such a car mounted governor assembly, the governorassembly further includes a remote triggering apparatus. The remotetriggering apparatus can be controlled actively to act on thecentrifugal mechanism, such that the governor assembly can be triggeredactively even that the car is not stalled, so as to achieve an objectivesuch as testing. The existing remote triggering apparatus is mainlycomposed of an electromagnet, and a tail end of a column of theelectromagnet directly acts on the centrifugal mechanism that isgenerally made of plastic.

In the past applications, the CMG is generally applied to low-speedelevators. The Chinese Utility Model Patent No. ZL201621141734.2submitted by the Otis Elevator Company on Oct. 20, 2016 and entitled“REMOTE TRIGGERING APPARATUS, GOVERNOR ASSEMBLY, AND ELEVATOR” hasdisclosed a remote triggering apparatus. A contact having a smoothtransition surface is adopted in the remote triggering apparatus, forattempting to apply the CMG to a high-speed elevator. The patent isincorporated here by reference in its entirety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is aimed at solving or at least alleviating theproblems in the prior art; in one aspect, the present invention is aimedat providing an actuator that is self-locked at an actuation position,to prevent the actuator from retracting after being impacted; in anotheraspect, the present invention is aimed at preventing a mandrel of theactuator from being impacted; in another aspect, the present inventionis aimed at lowering the requirements for electromagnetic forces of theactuator, thereby lowering the requirements for the actuator; and inanother aspect, the present invention is aimed at improving thereliability of a remote triggering apparatus, a governor, and anelevator.

An actuator is provided, including: a mandrel, the mandrel having aproximal end and a distal end, the mandrel being driven to move from acontraction position toward an actuation position; a mandrel sleeve, themandrel sleeve being sleeved on the distal end of the mandrel; and ashell, the shell defining a channel, wherein the actuator furtherincludes at least one sliding member, and when the mandrel moves fromthe contraction position toward the actuation position, the at least onesliding member is located at a first radial position where the mandrelis joined to the mandrel sleeve, such that the mandrel sleeve can movealong the channel together with the mandrel; and wherein at theactuation position, the at least one sliding member moves outwardradially to a second radial position where the mandrel sleeve is joinedto the shell, thus locking the mandrel sleeve.

A related remote triggering apparatus, a governor, and an elevator arefurther provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Content disclosed in the present invention will be more easilyunderstood with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should beeasily understood by those skilled in the art that these accompanyingdrawings are merely used for illustration rather than limiting theprotection scope of the present invention. Moreover, similar numerals inthe drawings are used to represent similar components, wherein

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a governor according to anembodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an actuator located at a contractionposition according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a remote triggering apparatuslocated at a contraction position according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a remote triggering apparatus in anactuation process according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a remote triggering apparatus thatjust arrives at an actuation position according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an actuation position of a remotetriggering apparatus according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 7 shows a locally enlarged diagram of an actuator according toanother embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is easily understood that those of ordinary skill in the art canpropose various interchangeable structural modes and implementationmanners without changing the essential spirit of the present invention.Therefore, the following specific implementation manners andaccompanying drawings are exemplary illustrations of the technicalsolutions of the present invention and should not be considered as allof the present invention or considered as definitions or limitations tothe technical solutions of the present invention.

Orientation terms such as upper, lower, left, right, front, rear, front,back, top, and bottom that are or might be mentioned in thespecification are used for definition with respect to constructionsshown in the accompanying drawings, and they are relative concepts andare possibly changed correspondingly according to their differentpositions and different use states. Therefore, these or otherorientation terms should not be construed as limitative terms.

The apparatus of the present invention is explained now with referenceto the accompanying drawings. First, referring to FIG. 1 , a governorassembly of an elevator system is shown. The governor assembly includesa sheave 2 having a centrifugal mechanism, a governor switch 4, and aremote triggering apparatus. The remote triggering apparatus includes anactuator 1 and a contact mechanism 3. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged diagramof the actuator 1, including: a mandrel 10, the mandrel 10 having aproximal end 101 and a distal end 102, the proximal end 101 of themandrel 10 being driven such that the mandrel 10 moves from acontraction position as shown in FIG. 2 to an actuation position asshown in FIG. 5 . When the mandrel is located at the contractionposition, the remote triggering apparatus does not trigger the governor,and when the mandrel is located at the actuation position, the remotetriggering apparatus will interfere with the governor and trigger thegovernor. The actuator 1 further includes a mandrel sleeve 21, themandrel sleeve 21 being sleeved on the distal end 102 of the mandrel 10;and a shell 50, the shell 50 defining a channel in which the mandrelsleeve 21 moves. The actuator further includes at least one slidingmember 31, and in a process that the mandrel 10 moves from thecontraction position toward the actuation position, at least one slidingmember 31 is located at a first radial position where the mandrel 10 isjoined to the mandrel sleeve 21, such that the mandrel sleeve 21 canmove along the channel together with the mandrel 10. Moreover, at theactuation position, at least one sliding member 31 moves outwardradially to a second radial position where the mandrel sleeve 21 isjoined to the shell 50, thus locking the mandrel sleeve. In theforegoing description, the first radial position and the second radialposition use a center line of the mandrel 10 as a reference. In theforegoing description, the term “at least one sliding member 31”includes one sliding member and multiple sliding blocks. When the “atleast one sliding member 31” represents multiple sliding blocks, theterms “first radial position” and “second radial position” are intendedto represent a respective first radial position and a respective secondradial position corresponding to each sliding block.

As shown in FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, the mandrel 10 can include amandrel stick 16 at the proximal end and a mandrel rod 161 at the distalend. In the embodiment in the drawing, the mandrel stick 16 has athreaded hole, a proximal end of the mandrel rod 161 has a bolt 15, andthe mandrel rod 161 is threaded to the mandrel stick 16. In analternative embodiment, the mandrel rod 161 can also be connected to themandrel stick 16 in another manner. In this embodiment, the mandrelstick 16 can be made of a magnetic material. A coil 8 is arranged at theperiphery of the mandrel stick 16, and the mandrel stick 16 is driven bya magnetic field generated after the coil 8 is powered on, so as todrive the mandrel rod 161 to move toward the actuation positiontogether. The mandrel stick 16 and the mandrel rod 161 are separated,such that the mandrel rod 161 is allowed to be made of a materialdifferent from that of the mandrel stick 16, thus being conducive tocomplex shaping and machining of the mandrel stick 16 and the mandrelrod 161. Definitely, in an alternative embodiment, the mandrel stick 16and the mandrel rod 161 can also be formed integrally.

As shown in FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, the mandrel includes at leastone slope 12. The slope 12 acts on at least one sliding member 31 andapplies a radially outward component force to the at least one slidingmember 31, and the radially outward component force urges the at leastone sliding member 31 to move from the first radial position to thesecond radial position. In some embodiments, the mandrel 10, e.g., themandrel rod 161 thereof, can include a mandrel body 11, a mandrelcontraction part 13, and a slope 12 located between the mandrel body 11and the mandrel contraction part 13. The slope 12 can have a linearprofile, an arc-shaped profile, or another suitable profile. In analternative embodiment, the radially outward force can also be appliedby means of another structure, such as a pre-pressed spring and amagnetic force-based attraction or repulsion mechanism, so as to urgethe at least one sliding member 31 to move outward radially.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the at least one sliding member31 is spherical, thereby facilitating the at least one sliding member tomove by means of rolling. In an alternative embodiment, the at least onesliding member 31 can also have another suitable shape, such as acylindrical shape and an ellipsoidal shape. It is difficult to view fromthe longitudinal cross-sectional view as shown, but actually, in theshown embodiment, the at least one sliding member actually includes afirst sliding member 31 and a second sliding member 32 that are disposedoppositely and arranged on the periphery of the mandrel symmetrically.In an alternative embodiment, the at least one sliding member caninclude more sliding members that are distributed uniformly along themandrel. Preferably, these sliding members are all spherical,cylindrical, or ellipsoidal, thereby facilitating these sliding membersto move by means of rolling. The sliding members that are disposedoppositely or distributed along the periphery can balance the forcereceived by the mandrel.

FIG. 3 further shows a contact plate mechanism 3. More specifically, thecontact plate mechanism 3 includes a contact plate 301 enabled by anactuator 1 to move from an idle position to an operating position. Theactuator 1 acts on an action point 304 at the back of the contact plate301, and the contact plate 301 is rotatably fixed at one end through apin 303 and a contact plate reset spring 302. In some embodiments, thecontact plate 301 can have a bent part and defines a smooth contactsurface.

Referring to FIG. 3 or FIG. 6 continuously, a front end of the mandrel10 can have a groove 18. A side of the groove 18 close to the distal enddefines a slope surface 12, and the groove 18 is convenient for defininga position of at least one sliding member. In some embodiments, themandrel, e.g., the mandrel rod 161, further includes a cap 14 sleeved onthe tail end of the mandrel contraction part 13. The slope surface 12 ofthe mandrel, the mandrel contraction part 13, and the mandrel cap 14jointly define the groove 18 on the mandrel. In such an embodiment, thegroove 18 of the mandrel is an annular groove surrounding the mandrelcontraction part. Alternatively, the mandrel may not have a contractionpart. Instead, the groove 18 including a proximal end slope surface 12can be directly disposed on a side wall of the cylindrical mandrel. Inthis case, the groove 18 is unnecessarily annular, and can have anothersuitable shape, e.g., one or more semi-spherical grooves correspondingto the at least one sliding member.

The mandrel sleeve 21 is sleeved on the distal end of the mandrel, andat least one opening 22 is provided on the side wall of the mandrelsleeve 21. In some embodiments, the side wall of the mandrel sleeve 21has (an) opening(s) 22 of which the position(s) and number(s) correspondto those of the at least one sliding member. In some embodiments, the atleast one sliding member 31 is located at the first radial positionbetween the contraction position shown in FIG. 3 and the actuationposition shown in FIG. 5 . For example, the first radial position can belocated in or between the groove 18 of the mandrel and the at least oneopening 22 of the mandrel sleeve. That is, a part of the at least onesliding member 31 is located in the groove 18 of the mandrel, and theother part of the at least one sliding member 31 is located in the atleast one opening 22 of the mandrel sleeve, such that the mandrel sleeve21 is joined or coupled to the mandrel 10, so as to move toward theactuation position jointly along the channel, and push the contact plate301 (FIG. 4 ) of the contact mechanism 3. The contact plate 3 can beprovided with a bend.

In some embodiments, the shell 50 constitutes an actuator front cover.The actuator front cover can, for example, be connected to an outer sideof an end cover 7 of the actuator through a bolt 9. The actuator frontcover includes a flat part 51 and a cylindrical part 52 protruded fromthe flat part. An inner side of the cylindrical part 52 defines at leasta part of the channel. In some embodiments, an inner side of the channelof the shell 50 has a recessed part 53. The recessed part 53 is locatedat a radial outer side of the at least one sliding member 31 at theactuation position. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , at the actuationposition, the at least one sliding member 31 is pushed out by themandrel 10, e.g., the slope surface 12 of the mandrel and moves to thesecond radial position. For example, the second radial position can bein or between the recessed part 53 of the shell and the opening 22 ofthe mandrel sleeve 21. That is, a part of the at least one slidingmember 31 is located in the recessed part 53, and the other part islocated in the opening 22. As shown in FIG. 4 , when the mandrel isdriven to move toward the actuation position, the slope surface 12 ofthe mandrel 10 acts on the at least one sliding member 31 and applies anaction force F to the at least one sliding member. The action force Fincludes a radially outward component force R. Before the actuationposition, the at least one sliding member 31 cannot move outwardradially due to the side wall of the channel. At the actuation position,as the side wall of the channel is provided with the recessed part 53,the at least one sliding member 31 can be pushed outward radially andmoves to the second radial position.

Further referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , the mandrel sleeve 21 defines abottom 23. At the position shown in FIG. 5 , when the at least onesliding member 31 is about to move or just moves to the second radialposition, a gap D still exists between the tail end of the mandrel,e.g., the cap 14 of the mandrel, and the bottom 23 of the mandrel sleeve21. At the position, as the at least one sliding member 31 has moved tothe second radial position, the mandrel 10 is decoupled from the mandrelsleeve 21, and the mandrel 10 is driven to be able to further moveforward with respect to the mandrel sleeve 21 in the mandrel sleeve,until the tail end of the mandrel, e.g., the cap 14 of the mandrel,abuts against the bottom 23 of the mandrel sleeve 21. In this case, theside wall 111 of the mandrel limits the at least one sliding member 53to the second radial position.

At the actuation position shown in FIG. 6 , the contact plate of thecontact mechanism 3 acts on a connecting rod connection point 201 of thecentrifugal mechanism of the sheave 2 at an action point 305, so as totrigger a governor. At the instant when the connecting rod connectionpoint 201 contacts the action point 305, the connecting rod connectionpoint 201 will bring about a large impact. Especially, in a case of ahigh-speed elevator, the connecting rod connection point 201 will have alarger rotating speed and larger rotational energy, and the impact istransmitted to the actuator 1 through the contact 301. In a past design,the impact force will be directly transmitted to the mandrel of theactual, such that the mandrel is contracted, thus damaging the actuator.Moreover, when an electromagnetic driving force applied to the mandrelis insufficient, the governor is difficult to be triggered. This putsforward more strict requirements for the electromagnetic driving forcecapability of the actuator, and increases costs of the actuator. In theembodiment of the present invention, the mandrel sleeve is joined to theshell, and the impact force applied to the mandrel sleeve is transmittedto the shell without damaging the mandrel. Moreover, it is unnecessaryfor the mandrel to resist the impact force, and has greatly lowered therequirements for the electromagnetic driving force of the mandrel.

In some embodiments, a first reset spring 41 is disposed between themandrel and the mandrel sleeve 21. In some embodiments, the rear end ofthe mandrel, e.g., the mandrel rod 161, has a boss 17, and the actuatorhas an inner cover 61. A second reset spring 42 is disposed between theboss 17 and the actuator inner cover 61, e.g., partially accommodated ina notch 62 of the actuator inner cover 61. Under the action of thecontact plate reset spring 302, the first reset spring 41, and thesecond reset spring 42, the actuator can be reset as long as the drivingforce is removed. Specifically, when the driving force is removed, e.g.,when the coil 8 is powered off, the actuator contracts to the positionshown in FIG. 5 under the action of the first reset spring 41 and thesecond reset spring 42. A push-back force of the contact plate 301 isalso applied to the mandrel sleeve 21 under the action of the contactreset spring 302. The push-back force is applied to the mandrel sleeve,and therefore, the opening 22 of the mandrel sleeve generates an inwardpush force Y to the at least one sliding member 31, and the recessedpart 53 of the shell generates a counter force f to at least one slidingmember 31 that abuts against the recessed part 53, the counter force fhaving a radially inward component force r. When the mandrel contractsback to the groove 18 of the mandrel and is aligned with the opening 22of the mandrel sleeve 21, the radially inward component force r pushesthe at least one sliding member 31 back to the first radial position.Subsequently, the whole actuator restores to the contraction positionshown in FIG. 1 under the action of the contact plate 301, the firstreset spring 41, and the second reset spring 42.

In some embodiments, the recessed part of the inner wall of the channelof the shell can be spherical. As shown in FIG. 7 , in some otherembodiments, the recessed part 53 has a first portion 531 close to theproximal end and a second portion 532 close to the distal end. In orderthat the at least one sliding member 31 can easily slide into therecessed part 53, the first portion 531 of the recessed part can have aslope angle a less than 45 degrees, or the first portion 531 of therecessed part has a slope angle a less than a slope angle b of thesecond portion 532 of the recessed part. Here, the slope angles a and bare respectively included angles between connection lines, of tops A, Bof the two portions of the recessed part and a bottom D, and a referencesurface. In addition, in some embodiments, the first portion 531 and thesecond portion 532 of the recessed part 53 can extend linearly or in anarc shape.

In another aspect, a remote triggering apparatus, and a governor and anelevator having the same are provided. The remote triggering apparatuscan include the actuator described according to the embodiments. In someembodiments, the remote triggering apparatus further includes: a contactplate enabled to move from an idle position to an operating position,the actuator acting on the back of the contact plate, and the contactplate being rotatably fixed at one end through a pin and a contact platereset spring. In another aspect, a governor is provided. The pin 303defines a rotation center of the contact plate 301, and an acting forceat an action point 304 between the actuator 1 and the contact plate 301has an arm of force longer than that of an acting force at an actionpoint 305 between the contact plate 301 and the centrifugal mechanism.Therefore, the impact applied to the actuator can be further reduced.

The specific embodiments described above are merely used to describe theprinciples of the present invention more clearly, and components areclearly shown or described such that the principles of the presentinvention are more easily comprehensible. Those skilled in the art caneasily make various modifications or changes on the present inventionwithout departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, itshould be understood that these modifications or changes should all beencompassed in the patent protection scope of the present inventionscope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An actuator, comprising: a mandrel, the mandrelhaving a proximal end and a distal end, and the mandrel being driven tomove from a contraction position toward an actuation position; a mandrelsleeve, the mandrel sleeve being sleeved on the distal end of themandrel; and a shell, the shell defining a channel, wherein the actuatorfurther comprises at least one sliding member, and when the mandrelmoves from the contraction position toward the actuation position, theat least one sliding member is located at a first radial position wherethe mandrel is joined to the mandrel sleeve, such that the mandrelsleeve can move along the channel together with the mandrel; and whereinat the actuation position, the at least one sliding member moves outwardradially to a second radial position where the mandrel sleeve is joinedto the shell, thus locking the mandrel sleeve; wherein the mandrelcomprises a mandrel stick located at the proximal end and a mandrel rodlocated at the distal end and connected to the mandrel stick; wherein acoil is arranged at the periphery of the mandrel stick, and the mandrelstick is made of a magnetic material, wherein the mandrel is driven tothe actuation position by a magnetic field generated by the coil whenthe coil is powered on.
 2. The actuator according to claim 1, whereinthe mandrel comprises a slope, the slope acts on the at least onesliding member and applies a radially outward component force to the atleast one sliding member, and the radially outward component force urgesthe at least one sliding member to move from the first radial positionto the second radial position.
 3. The actuator according to claim 1,wherein the at least one sliding member is spherical, cylindrical, orellipsoidal.
 4. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the mandrelis driven by an electromagnetic driving apparatus.
 5. The actuatoraccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one sliding member comprisesa pair of opposite sliding members or more sliding members that aredistributed uniformly along the periphery of the mandrel.
 6. Theactuator according to claim 1, wherein the mandrel has a groove, themandrel sleeve has at least one opening of which the number and positioncorrespond to those of the sliding members, and the at least one slidingmember is located at the first radial position between the groove of themandrel and the at least one opening of the mandrel sleeve.
 7. Theactuator according to claim 6, wherein one side of the groove of themandrel close to the proximal end defines a slope, and the slope acts onthe at least one sliding member and applies a radially outward componentforce to the at least one sliding member.
 8. The actuator according toclaim 6, wherein the mandrel comprises a mandrel body, a mandrelcontraction part, and a slope between the mandrel body and the mandrelcontraction part.
 9. The actuator according to claim 8, wherein themandrel further comprises a cap covering a tail end of the mandrelcontraction part, and the slope, the mandrel contraction part, and thecap jointly define the groove on the mandrel.
 10. The actuator accordingto claim 1, wherein a recessed part is provided on an inner side of thechannel of the shell, the recessed part is located at a radial outerside of the at least one sliding member at the actuation position, andat the actuation position, the at least one sliding member is pushed outby the mandrel and moves to the second radial position between therecessed part of the shell and an opening of the mandrel sleeve.
 11. Theactuator according to claim 10, wherein the recessed part is spherical.12. The actuator according to claim 10, wherein the recessed part has afirst portion close to the proximal end and a second portion close tothe distal end, the first portion of the recessed part has a slope angleless than 45 degrees, or the first portion of the recessed part has aslope angle less than that of the second portion of the recessed part.13. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein after the mandrel reachesthe actuation position and the at least one sliding member moves to thesecond radial position, the mandrel is decoupled from the mandrelsleeve, and the mandrel is driven to further move forward with respectto the mandrel sleeve in the mandrel sleeve, a side wall of the mandrellimiting the at least one sliding member to the second radial position.14. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein a first reset spring isdisposed between the mandrel and the mandrel sleeve.
 15. The actuatoraccording to claim 1, wherein a rear end of the mandrel has a boss, anda second reset spring is disposed between the boss at the rear end ofthe mandrel and an inner side of the actuator.
 16. The actuatoraccording to claim 1, wherein the shell constitutes an actuator frontcover, the actuator front cover comprises a flat part and a cylindricalpart protruded from the flat part, and the cylindrical part defines atleast a part of the channel.
 17. The actuator according to claim 16,wherein the actuator front cover is connected to an actuator end plateand an actuator inner cover through a bolt, and the actuator inner coverdefines a notch that accommodates a second reset spring.
 18. A remotetriggering apparatus for a governor, comprising the actuator accordingto claim
 1. 19. The remote triggering apparatus according to claim 18,further comprising: a contact plate enabled by the actuator to move froman idle position to an operating position, wherein the actuator acts onthe back of the contact plate, and the contact plate is rotatably fixedat one end through a pin and a contact plate reset spring.
 20. Agovernor, comprising the remote triggering apparatus according to claim18 and a sheave having a centrifugal mechanism.
 21. The governoraccording to claim 20, wherein the remote triggering apparatus furthercomprises: a contact plate enabled by the actuator to move from an idleposition to an operating position, the actuator acts on the back of thecontact plate, and the contact plate is rotatably fixed at one endthrough a pin and a contact plate reset spring, wherein the pin definesa rotation center of the contact plate.
 22. An elevator, comprising theactuator according to claim 1.